5.  The applicant was born in 1981 and lives in Tbilisi.
6.  On 20 June 2003 criminal proceedings for murder were initiated (“the murder case”). On 3 July 2003 charges of murder and the unlawful acquisition, storage and transportation of firearms were brought against the applicant’s brother and another person. The accused persons, having fled, were formally declared wanted on 4 July 2003.
7.  On an unspecified date in July 2003, photographs of four persons – the applicant, his brother, the other person accused of murder and the latter’s brother – were posted on the boards of “wanted persons” in the police stations of the Vake-Saburtalo District in Tbilisi, the Ambrolauri district (western Georgia) and on the Armenian-Georgian border. Identified by their names, they were said to be wanted by the police in connection with a murder.
8.  In reply to queries from the applicant’s lawyers, the Vake‑Saburtalo District Court in Tbilisi stated on 4 November 2003 that, between May and November 2003, no criminal procedural measures of a coercive nature against the applicant had been registered in the relevant log. Further, by a notification of 28 November 2003, the Vake-Saburtalo police station confirmed to the lawyers that solely the applicant’s brother, who was charged with the murder and firearms offences, had been declared wanted and that no similar measure had been taken with respect to the applicant.
9.  On 15 December 2003 the applicant’s lawyers requested the Ministry of the Interior (“the MI”) to remove the applicant’s photograph from the police stations and to punish those who had unlawfully posted it. In a reply of 30 December 2003, the MI reiterated that only the applicant’s brother had been wanted for the murder and firearms offences. As to the applicant, in view of his constant refusals to appear before the Vake-Saburtalo district prosecutor’s office, the latter agency had taken “the relevant operational measures aimed at having him interviewed, in the capacity of a witness”. No reply was given to the request for the photograph’s removal.
10.  On 28 January 2004 the applicant’s lawyers requested the Vake‑Saburtalo District Court to initiate criminal proceedings for libel on the basis of the unlawful posting of the applicant’s photograph in the police stations (“the libel complaint”). Under Article 27 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (“the CCP”) as in force at the material time, the offence of libel was a matter for private prosecution and, pursuant to Article 627 § 1 of the CCP, only a competent court was empowered to initiate criminal proceedings on the basis of a complaint by the victim.
11.  As disclosed by the case file, the Vake-Saburtalo District Court decided to summon the applicant to a hearing, reasoning that it was necessary to hear oral submissions from him. The summons could not be served on the applicant at his home address, as his parents stated that his whereabouts had been unknown for the past eight months.
12.  In a decision of 4 February 2004, the Vake-Saburtalo District Court dismissed the libel complaint. The court pointed out that a private prosecution could be requested either personally by the victim or by his representative in law (Article 627 § 1 of the CCP). That being so, the court, whilst accepting the power of the applicant’s lawyers to represent him, pointed out that the libel complaint had been signed not by the applicant or his representative in law but by the director of the human rights advocacy centre of which the lawyers were members. The lawyers replied that their client had been feeling insecure as to his liberty, hence his non-appearance before the court. They reiterated the content of the complaint orally, requesting the identification and punishment of those officials who had unlawfully posted the applicant’s photograph and implicated him in the murder. The District Court concluded that the circumstances of the case disclosed no elements of libel. However, it decided to forward the request and the case file to the competent prosecutor’s office so that the latter agency could examine whether any offence had been committed by public officials in the performance of their duties.
13.  An appeal lay against the decision of 4 February 2004, but had to be lodged within the following fourteen days. However, as disclosed by the case file, the applicant’s lawyers did not appeal.
14.  On 9 February 2004 an article disclosing the story of the posted photograph was published in a national newspaper. Shortly afterwards, the applicant’s photograph was removed from the police stations.
15.  In a letter of 7 April 2004, the Vake-Saburtalo district prosecutor’s office informed the applicant’s lawyers that the court decision of 4 February 2004 had never ordered it to initiate criminal proceedings either for libel or for any offence committed by persons holding public office, but had simply forwarded the case file with the instruction “to react”. Accordingly, the prosecutor’s office had decided, on 27 February 2004, to forward the case to the MI for an internal investigation. The letter of 7 April 2004 did not enclose a copy of the decision of 27 February 2004 and did not advise the applicant of the appeal procedure, if appropriate. As disclosed by the case file, the MI never informed the applicant of any decision taken in respect of the subsequent developments in his case (see paragraph 105 below).
16.  In late April 2004 the applicant lodged with the General Prosecutor’s Office (“the GPO”) another application to initiate criminal proceedings in respect of the unlawful posting of his photographs (“the second criminal complaint”). The GPO transmitted this request to the Tbilisi city prosecutor’s office with the instruction to take “a decision in accordance with the law”. The latter agency forwarded this instruction to the Vake‑Saburtalo district prosecutor’s office.  According to the applicant, on 24 May 2004 he requested a report from the prosecution authority on the progress of the proceedings in respect of his second criminal complaint but no reply was forthcoming. According to the Government, however, the Vake‑Saburtalo district prosecutor’s office examined that complaint and took a decision on an unspecified date. Neither the content nor the date of that decision was specified by the Government in their observations.
17.  According to the applicant, in the course of the investigation into the murder case, the authorities constantly threatened his parents that they would “catch”[1] him, unless his fugitive brother surrendered to the authorities.
18.  On 30 March 2004 the applicant responded to the authorities’ repeated calls to testify as a witness in the murder case by voluntarily appearing before the Vake‑Saburtalo district prosecutor’s office. Upon arrival and without being examined in the capacity of a witness, he was arrested on suspicion of unlawfully acquiring, storing and/or transporting firearms and ammunition, which offence formed part of the murder case. The suspicion was formally based on several pieces of evidence – statements by three witnesses, the results of a search and the forensic examination of the seized firearms – all of which had been obtained in June and July 2003, in the course of the investigation into the murder case.
19.  Later the same day, the Vake-Saburtalo district prosecutor’s office disjoined the firearms aspect from the murder case and registered it as a separate set of proceedings (“the firearms case”). Subsequently, the applicant was confronted, in the presence of his lawyer, with one of the witnesses whose statements had been obtained in June and July 2003 (see the preceding paragraph). During that confrontation, the witness altered his previous testimony in favour of the applicant, by concluding that only the applicant’s brother had been involved in the firearms offence. The investigator concluded that the applicant and his lawyer had subjected the witness to undue “moral pressure” during the confrontation.
20.  On 31 March 2004 the investigator re‑examined the above‑mentioned witness, this time in the absence of the applicant and his lawyer. The witness retracted the altered testimony he had given the previous day and confirmed the truthfulness of the statements he had made in June and July 2003.
21.  On 1 April 2004 the charge of storing and transporting firearms and ammunition was preferred against the applicant. This charge was based on the above-mentioned evidence obtained in the course of the investigation into the murder case (see paragraph 18 above). The applicant pleaded “not guilty”. On the same day the prosecutor requested that the applicant be remanded in custody for three months.
22.  As disclosed by the case file, the prosecutor’s main argument during the remand hearing was that the applicant’s release could jeopardise the pending investigation of the murder case, particularly when one of the accused in that case, his brother, was missing. The applicant replied that it was unlawful to justify his pre-trial detention in the interests of the murder case, as he had been detained solely on suspicion of having committed the firearms offence. He challenged the reasonableness of the latter suspicion as well. In favour of his release, the applicant submitted that he had not committed a single act capable of impeding the investigation for the last ten months and that he had voluntarily appeared before the prosecutor’s office for an interview. He also referred to the fact that his father was seriously ill and required his care.
23.  On 2 April 2004 the Vake-Saburtalo District Court ordered the applicant’s remand in custody for three months, with effect from 30 March 2004.  The detention order was a standard form, the reasoning of which had mostly been pre-printed. The judge added by hand the reference to the relevant evidence, the names of the parties’ representatives to the proceedings and the classification of the impugned offence:
“Having examined [in accordance with the requirements of procedural law] the well-foundedness of the detention request, and having heard the parties’ pleadings, I have come to the conclusion that the evidence collected – [reference to the evidence obtained in June and July 2003 – see paragraph 18 above] – gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that Giorgi Nikolaishvili has committed the impugned offence. The evidence has been obtained in conformity with the rules of criminal procedure.
 Procedural law was also observed in the course of Giorgi Nikolaishvili’s arrest and in the bringing of charges against him.
I consider that the detention request by [reference to the prosecutor’s name] is substantiated and that there exist legal grounds for granting it. Thus, in so far as the accused, G. Nikolaishvili, is charged with a less serious crime, the danger that, if released, he might hamper the establishment of the truth or abscond from the investigation and trial is substantiated...”
The judge then dismissed, in a handwritten note, the applicant’s allegations of procedural violations as irrelevant to the classification of the impugned offence.
24.  In a final decision of 8 April 2004 the Tbilisi Regional Court upheld the detention order of 2 April 2004, reasoning as follows:
“... [The applicant] has been charged with an offence classified as less serious, which carries a maximum term of five years’ imprisonment. The impugned offence of the unlawful acquisition, storage and/or transportation of firearms might be related to the murder case, the investigation of which is still pending. In such conditions, the discontinuation of detention on remand or its substitution with a non-custodial measure of restraint might possibly hamper the establishment of the truth in that case; if released, the accused might influence witnesses, continue his criminal activities or abscond. Such conclusions can be derived from the insincerity of the accused.
The case discloses both formal (procedural) and factual grounds for the imposition of pre-trial detention...”
25.  On several occasions in April and May 2004, the applicant requested to be confronted again with the above-mentioned witness for the prosecution (paragraphs 19 and 20 above). His requests were dismissed as unsubstantiated, the authorities reasoning that the previous confrontation had been conducted in conformity with the procedural rules, whilst another one would most likely lead to the same result – the exertion of moral pressure on the witness in question.
26.  On 30 June 2004 the three month pre-trial detention period expired, without a court ordering its extension. On 7 July 2004, having terminated the investigation, the prosecutor sent the criminal case for trial, forwarding the bill of indictment.
27.  On 24 January 2005 the judge of the Vake-Saburtalo District Court, dispensing with an oral hearing, decided, in camera, to commit the applicant for trial under Article 417 § 1 of the CCP. This decision, like the detention order of 2 April 2004, was set out in a standard form with pre‑printed reasoning. The judge added, in the blank spaces provided, a brief statement of facts, the name of the accused and the definition of the impugned offence.
28.  As to the reasoning, the decision of 24 January 2005 confirmed the applicant’s pre-trial detention in a pre-printed phrase. The judge added by hand the definition of the measure of restraint:
“The measure of pre-trial restraint – detention – has been correctly chosen.”
29.  The case file does not refer to any further developments in the criminal proceedings.